[CentOS] system-display-config doesn't run right

Mon Mar 19 20:51:47 UTC 2007
R P Herrold <herrold at owlriver.com>

On Mon, 19 Mar 2007, Mark Hull-Richter wrote:

> This might be a gnome problem, but....

Well, it is a Gnome problem to the extent that Gnome 
components, such as the pygtk2 (2 M) pulls in gtk2 widgets (12 
M of widget) for a 1/2 M config tool.  We discused this in IRC 
a couple weeks ago, and I talked a customer through it just 
this morning, as to this bloat into s-c-tools, and the lack of 
there being an effective enumeration tool for RPM to use to 
enumerate Pythonic 'includes' to find such Requires.

If I cared, I'd file a bug upstream, but as all right thinking 
people install Gnome, I doubt it would get much attention ;0

In some install paths (such as moving a server to add X) such 
that you can install s-c-display, and not know that a needed 
element was missing.

The underlying Pythonic code displaced the former (lighter) 
code which did this in prior s-c-display's without the Gnomish 
parts -- Don't you feel better with nicer widgets?  And there 
are lovely UI standards.  Is the check box on the side you 
like?

That said, at least there is some tool for people willing to 
bloat their box and use Gnome.  Oh -- and
    man xorg.conf
is there for the rugged individualist

The other trap for the unwary with a new install is that the 
xfs needs to be running, and have fonts, etc.

> I ran system-config-display form the command line, but it dies thus:
>
> [root at mhullrichter mhr]# system-config-display
> * no cardMem, assuming 8192
>
> Traceback (most recent call last):
>
>  File "/usr/share/system-config-display/xconf.py", line 380, in ?

  *** first hint -- Python code -- silent included modules are 
not findable to RPM at build time.  As all right thinking 
prople install Gnome, they are not needed here of course.

> TypeError: GtkLabel.set_text() argument 1 must be string, not None

lets check the man page:
 	man GtkLabel

hmmm -- no man page -- oh, that's right -0- it's Gnome -- it 
does not NEED no steenkin' man pages.  As I enable the 
updatedb, I find:

[herrold at centos-4 ~]$ locate GtkLabel
/usr/share/gtk-doc/html/gtk/GtkLabel.html

and that is enough to remind me of this trap

good luck

- Russ Herrold